Unexpected Hope
by Lily Handle
Summary: The one thing to say about this story: What can happen when an author has fun with cut offs, a game of pool and playing dirty?


Unexpected Hope

By: Lily Handle

Author's Note: This is a little fluff ficcy for a really awesome fan, Wolviesfan, who was feeling really under the weather. I know fluff always makes me feel better, so this is to make her feel better. Even though she's probably feeling better by now, since this took me forever to write, but it's the thought that counts. And the one thing to say about this story: What can happen when an author has fun with cut offs, a game of pool and playing dirty? Please read and review.

The Auger Inn was a place of smoke, beer, and honky-tonk. It was a place for bikers, truckers and drunks, and it was one of Logan's favorite places to hang out. The bartender knew him by name, the old drunk at the end of the bar told him stories and there was always someone to play a game of pool with. It was a place Logan went to blow off steam or just hang out. On a Friday night the place was pretty busy, there were plenty of bikes parked outside the door, trucks were taking up the few parking spaces and Hank Williams Jr. was playing just inside. Already feeling at home, Logan swung off his bike, and headed for the door. When he pushed it open laughter assaulted his ears, as well as whistling catcalls. Cigar and cigarette smoke tickled his nose along with a disturbingly familiar scent. He started scanning the area, looking for the source of the scent, and found it was coming from a disturbing place. It was coming from the pool tables, one of the back tables were a crowd of men was gathered around, making a lot of noise. Slightly wary, Logan walked over to the bar to talk with Mac, the bar tender.

"What's up in the back there, Mac?" Logan asked when the old man walked over with a bottle of beer for him.

"Oh, Hope's just takin' money from the boys again," Mac said, picking up a glass to wipe it down with a rag.

"Hope?" Now Logan was pretty sure he'd stepped into the wrong place or stepped into so alternate reality of some sorts.

"Yeah, Dr. Hope, she'd been comin' in here off and on for years," Mac smiled towards the back table, a reminiscing look on his face, "She comes in for a couple of hours, plays a few games, lets the boys buy her drinks then saunters out a few dollars richer than when she walked in."

"Never seen her in here before," Logan turned to lean against the bar and watch the crowd around the table. He was pretty sure deep in that mass of testosterone Hope was hiding. Strange, he'd been coming to the Inn for years and he'd never run into her, when he should have. Hope didn't seem like the biker bar type either, more like an art gallery showing or a coffee bar type.

"You've never seen her?" Mac laughed, "You should go talk to her, she plays a pretty mean game of pool."

"I might, got to get past the dogs first."

"She handles them pretty well, don't you worry about that. She might be on the small side, Hope, but she's got enough attitude to keep them in line." Mac put a hand on Logan's shoulder, "Got enough attitude to handle you as well, I'd bet."

"Yeah, let's just see about that." While the scent might remind him of Hope's, lately a lot of things were reminding him of Hope, he just couldn't get that woman out of his brain. He had a hard time believing she was playing pool in a biker bar, it just didn't fit with the image of Hope he had. Using his reputation and muscles he pushed his way through the crowd around the table and was met by an image that took him completely by surprise. The Dr. Hope who was playing pool was the Dr. Hope he knew from the Institute, but she never looked like that before. The Hope that was playing pool was doing it in a tiny little white tank top, which covered enough so that she wouldn't get arrested and showed off a silver belly button ring. The tiny little cut off shorts she was wearing didn't fit with the dress slacks and skirts he'd seen her in either. He'd seen her in heels, just not heels like the ones she was wearing tonight, those were black, with probably the skinniest, tallest spikes he'd ever seen on a pair of heels. She did have the glasses though, those thin gold frames were unmistakable, as was that hair and that scent. He couldn't get his mind around it, the woman who was so prim and proper was now dressed like a pin up poster, playing pool in a biker bar, he had stepped into different universe and it was a rather interesting one.

"She's somethin' else, huh?" A guy standing next to him said, elbowing him in the arm, "She's got one nice set of..."

"You finish that thought and you'll regret it," Logan snarled before stepping forward and away from the crowd, "What do you think you're doin' here Doc?" She looked up from the shot she was about to take and smiled widely with dark ruby red lips.

"Hey, Logan, what are you doing here?" She straightened and leaned against the pool cue she was holding, cocking one hip towards him, "Something up at the Institute?"

"No, everything's fine," He came to stand beside her, keeping his voice low, "I wouldn't say the same about here."

She laughed throatily, a sound he never heard her make before, and frankly one he'd like to hear again, "These guys are harmless. Aren't you boys?" There was a rousing cheer of agreement from the peanut gallery, which had Hope laughing again, "See? We're just playing a few games and enjoying a few drinks, Logan, I do it all the time. Hey, you want to play me? I'll go easy on you, I promise."

"I'm not playin' you Doc."

"Aww," She pouted, which gave Logan a thought he really shouldn't have had because when she did that her lower lip stuck out and about all he could think of was sinking his teeth into it. He should be thinking about getting her out of here and dressed before the peanut gallery ate her alive. "Come on, Logan, don't spoil all the fun."

"These guys idea of fun involves getting you out of the clothes you're barely wearing," And Logan didn't like that idea at all. If anyone was getting her out of those clothes it was him. Wait, hold on a second, that's not what he should be thinking right now.

Hope just rolled her eyes at him, "You know I've been in here before."

"So Mac told me, that doesn't mean you're staying now."

"All right, Alpha Male, I'll play you for it," She challenged, tossing her head back.

"What?"

"You want me out, fine, I'll leave if you beat me at a game of Nine-Ball."

"Nine-Ball? You know how to play Nine-Ball?"

She rolled her eyes again, "Of course I know how to play Nine-Ball. I'm not an amateur, Logan. Now, here's what I propose, we play one game, if you win I'll leave."

"And if you win?"

She gave him a smile like a cat that ate the canary and got the bowl of cream, "We'll see what I want if I win." Nine-Ball was a fairly straightforward game, a little less complicated than Eight-Ball pool. Played with the first nine balls, the point was the get every ball in, in any order. If you made a pocket, you got another turn, miss or foul your opponent took over the table. Logan could play either Eight or Nine-Ball, but he had to admit Eight-Ball was more to his taste. If the Doc wanted to play Nine-Ball, fine he'd play and haul her out of here over his shoulder. Whether he'd kill her or kiss her once he got her out of the Inn was up in the air, so far throttling her for this stunt was on the top of his list.

"Rack 'um up, Doc." She smiled brightly and strode off for the rack, which gave him a nice view of her backside. Jesus, his mouth went dry at the sight and he almost went cross-eyed. What happened to the Hope he could handle? This firecracker barley contained in her clothes was giving him ideas that he could normally bury in the back of his mind. It got worse when she leaned over the table to start racking the balls because now he could see right down the plunging neckline of the tank top. Oh he was going to be one very lucky guy if he got out of this with his sanity intact.

"So, do you want to break?" She asked, propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands, "Or should I?"

"Rules say loser breaks," He muttered, catching on to her little plan. She wore the clothes to distract the guy she was playing, giving her the advantage. No wonder Mac said she took money from the men she played, who were normally professional level players, that outfit would drive any man worth is testosterone to distraction. It was certainly giving him a little trouble, not that he was going to let a little thing like cut offs distract him. He had to get Hope out of here for her own good.

"Well, I've won every game I've played tonight, so," She rolled the cue ball at him, then walked over to the small bar by the table to watch. While he lined up the shot he kept an eye on her, just in case, but keeping an eye on her was proving to be a bad idea. She picked up a near by glass with what looked like bourbon in it, and rolled it right over the dip in the tank top. He scratched on the break.

"Aww," She taunted, pushing off from the wall, "Tough luck."

"Watch it Doc," He growled, serious about the game now. She wanted to play dirty, he'd play the same way, he'd been playing that way longer than she had. She just glanced over her shoulder at him, a cocky grin that reminded him of himself on her lips. She leaned to take the shot, which gave Logan the perfect chance to get his own shot in. He walked around the table, to stand behind her, and then leaned over to look at her shot.

"A little to the left, Doc," He whispered in her ear and instantly got a reaction. Her scent changed, becoming thick with pheromones, and he didn't miss the quick breath she sucked in involuntarily. Got ya, he thought, even going so far as to trail a hand down her back. She shivered, but she didn't miss her shot. She was good, but he was going to prove he was better. While she stood back to survey the table he tried to keep her mind somewhere else.

"Where'd you get the ring?" He asked.

"Panama City, went down there for Spring Break," She smiled at him, walking around to take another shot, "A little too much tequila, not enough common sense."

"Looks real nice, though," He grinned cockily at her when she looked up from her shot, "Gives a man ideas." She missed by a mile, and the look of complete surprise on her face was a bonus. "Tough luck."

She glared at him, "This means war, bub."

"You just noticed that now, sweetheart?" He sunk three more balls before she got him to miss by mentioning a very interesting fact.

"I also got a tattoo while in Panama City." And his shot went wide. Straight laced, rich girl Hope had a tattoo? That instantly brought forward questions of where the tattoo was and what was it of? A nice move though, he had to admit, the tattoo was another sucker punch.

"Along with the belly ring?" He asked, stepping back from the table, thinking of all the interesting places ink could be printed on the skin.

"Yeah," She tossed her hair back, which forced her back to arch and give him more ideas, "It's one of those things I don't mention to my family."

"So you mention it to a crowd of strangers?" Though the crowd had thinned, long ago they figured out this was more than just a game between the two of them and started to give them a little space. The fierce glares Logan shot anyone if they started to make a comment also helped clear the area. They had placed bets on who would win, most of them were on her, but he was aiming to prove them wrong.

"The boys aren't strangers," She snorted, sinking a shot. "They're friends."

"How'd you find this place anyway?"

"My car got a flat on the way home from a friends, I wandered in to find a phone and ended up playing a few rounds to pass the time," She smiled brightly at him, "I come back every now and then. Didn't know you hung out here."

"Yeah, every now and then I stop by," She made another shot, it was time to play dirty again. "Got to admit though, if I knew you came here dressed like that, I might have stopped in more often." Exactly the right thing to say, at the right time, she was surprised enough to miss-cue. She stepped back from the table, smirking at him. He knew what that look meant, she was planning something, one final attempt to throw him off and win the game. So he steeled himself, he wasn't going to let her shake him because now he was going to get her out of here to a more private place. They'd been playing with fire for a while now, going back and forth between denial and desire, it was time to stop playing. He made two shots, leaving one ball on the table in a tricky position, right between two pockets. He had to hit it just right to get it to slide down the edge into one of the pockets and win the game. He stood back, giving him time to line it all up in his head when she made her move.

She walked over to stand next to him, plastering herself against his side, she trailed her fingers up his cue, "In the spirit of good sportsmanship I should wish you luck," She said, whispering huskily, "But I'd rather have you miss." And she leaned forward, then ran the tip of her tongue up the side of his cue before walking back towards the wall. He wasn't wasting anymore time now, not with the boys hooting catcalls, and all the blood rushing from his head. He didn't remember lining up the shot, but he remembered the pu-tunk as the ninth ball landed in the pocket and the cheers of the bar patrons. He whirled on Hope, who was staring at him in disbelief, grabbed her hand and stalked away from the pool tables.

"Told you she had enough attitude to handle you!" Mac called after Logan as he dragged Hope towards the door.

"Put everything on my tab, Mac!" Hope called, "Don't think I'll be back in to pay tonight!" Damn right she wouldn't, she wasn't going anywhere without him for a very long time. She was laughing, which was driving him crazy, and once they got outside, away from the crowd he spun her and pinned her to the wall.

"You're living dangerously, Doc," He said through gritted teeth.

She just laughed again and licked her lips, which did nothing to help him regain control, "Me? I would never do such a thing," She said it in her most upper crust society voice, but there was a devilish glint in her eyes. Where was this Doc hiding all this time because he'd never seen this side before? How could she have hidden it for so long? There was no way he was going to think of her the same way after this, there was just no way.

"You're asking for it," He growled, trying to warn her before she went too far, because he was getting to a very perilous edge and if she pushed him much farther she had to be ready to come with him.

"You know what I'm asking for, Logan?" She was whispering again, that same husky bedroom voice. It reminded him of silk sheets and hot nights, with her in a staring roll. She was officially driving him crazy, "I'm asking for...GOOD MORNING BAYVILLE!"

Sadly, the alarm clock did not survive the meeting with Logan's fist. It went sailing across the room, parts hitting the wall before dropping to the floor. He had always had vivid dreams, and for the first time he was unsure if that was a good thing or not. He was going to have the image of Hope in those cut offs and tank top stuck in the back of his brain for days, and he didn't even want to think about how he was going to handle being in the same room with her for awhile. Too bad he'd woken up, he thought ruefully, if he was going to suffer from a dream he'd like to have gotten to the best part before waking up. Well he was up now, might as well get started with the day. He got dressed, idly running over the details of the dream, it was definitely better than the dreams of the scientist in goggles. He also wondered if Hope actually had a wild side like the dream Hope. Did she go to Panama City? Did she have that tattoo, more importantly did she have that belly ring? He walked into the kitchen, thinking about a tiny silver ring in a very dangerous place for his mind to be going this early in the morning, and was a little taken aback when the object of his thoughts was sitting at the kitchen table. Sure, she wasn't in tiny little cut offs or a white tank top and there was no silver ring, but he could easily see her dressed in them. She was looking like the Hope he knew, the Hope he understood and the Hope he could deal with. Her hair was neat and tidy, she was wearing a button collared shirt, and a knee length black skirt. Yeah, this Hope wasn't the one who was suppose to knock him for a loop, but the odd idea that beneath all the prim and proper trappings might be a wild child was certainly giving him ideas. He needed coffee, now.

"Good morning Logan," She said, politely while he poured himself a cup.

"Mornin'," He replied gruffly, drinking quickly so the coffee scaled his tongue and cleared his mind of thoughts about the dream about the Auger Inn.

"Something wrong?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"Nothin'," He studied her for a second, "Tell me Doc, you know how to play Nine-Ball?"

"Nine-Ball? As in pool?" She frowned over the edge of the morning paper, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Yeah."

"No, I'm a terrible pool player, why do you ask?"

"No reason," He said, but he was thinking, damn.

Author's Note: The moral of the story: Turn about is fair play. In Hopes and Dreams I messed with Hope's head with a dream, so I thought it would be fun to mess with Logan's! I'm so evil, but I have so much fun being evil. I also had a lot of fun writing naughty Hope, that was a side of her I don't get to play with that often, now the question is how much of naughty Hope is real? Tee, hee, hee. Anyway, chapter three of The Power of Hope is in the officially stalled phase so don't ask me when it'll be out. Sorry about that folks. Please read and review.


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